I feel my mind going blank, My balance has completely shifted forward. My only response is to grip my walking stick tighter and my free hand reaching out to grab onto something, anything. As I piece everything together from the high winds and grassy field, I come to the conclusion that I'm probably on top of a cliff, and I'm about to fall down from it. Whoever that person that called out from the back, I don't think they'll be able to catch me before I fall over. This is it... although I couldn't see anything, I close my eyes anyway. As I do so, I begin to focus as I hear my heartbeat through my ears. The grass rustles behind me, and it gradually becomes louder and louder. Suddenly I feel a grip on my left wrist that has somehow ascended into the air, strong grip on my wrist, at this point most of my body has gone over the cliff. I can feel long sharp nails on my skin from the hold, it's a hand, could it be that person's? The person then yanks on my arm and I feel my whole body getting pulled back with a jolt, I gasp at the suddenness. My body turns sideways and falls backwards, I open my eyes in shock. I then feel an arm wrap around my back pulling me into something, I suddenly feel a presence in front of me. I fall into someone, the person continues to hold onto my wrist as their other arm holds me to them. The hand that held onto the walking stick loosens as I try to grab onto something to balance myself, my walking stick flies out of my hand, but I feel silk fabric soon after. My face lands against to what I assume is the person's chest as a light "oof" escapes my mouth. I can hear breathing next to my ear and soft hair grazing gently against my face. A scent fills my nostrils, a strong scent of that of a clean dog after a bath, it's peculiar but somehow intoxicating. The person feels warm and I kind of feel myself getting lost in their warmth, I can feel my heart pounding in my chest but I also feel safe now. Time seem to stop for a while even though only a few seconds has passed, the person saved me.

"What are you crazy or something? I yelled at you to stop walking but you kept on walking?!" The person suddenly says harshly.

Their voice pulls me back into reality. It's a man's voice, loud, rash, and slightly filled with an arrogant tone. I feel annoyance boil up inside of me all of a sudden, I pull myself away from them and pry his arms off of me. I take a step back and look up, I'm not sure where he is exactly but I'm just going to take a guess that he's in front of me.

"Thank you for saving me, but you don't have to be so harsh, I didn't hear you due to the high winds and I couldn't see." I reply back to them as calmly as I can.

"Ya sure, hearing might have been difficult due to the distance and strong wind but you have eyes, did you not see the cliff in front of you, are you blind?!" He continues.

I lost it, my brows furrows and I feel my eyes wondering around now instead of focusing on one place.

"Yes, I am blind. I can't see, that's what happens to people who are blind! I don't need you to tell me that I'm blind because I know that. Again thanks for saving me and hope you have a good day!" I say raising my voice in anger.

I give a bow and turn to the side a little to walk away from this person, who does he think he is?

"Hey you, wait." He suddenly says.

I stop and turn slightly but not directing my eyes to the direction of his voice.

"What?!" I reply back irritated.

A brief silence falls over the place, the wind whooshes across the field.

"You're the Artistic Butterfly aren't you?" He asks with a calmer tone but his voice isn't lessening my irritation.

My eyes widen slightly at the question, he knows me. I turn my body towards his direction, I furrow my brows slightly. I feel alert.

"Who are you and how do you know me?" I question him.

I can hear rustling of fabric, then the grass, and then it stops.

"So I guessed right, it is you. The little firecracker from years before, you can't recognize my voice? You seemed to be pretty eager to argue with me back then, I'm pretty sure you would have my voice down in memory after that day." I hear him say.

I can tell that he's grinning because his voice is laced with amusement and he finished the sentence off lightly. I furrow my brows even more, he sure knows a lot about what happened that day that I met him. I decided to run through my memories, I argued with him he says. My brows loosens as one person comes to mind, I can only remember one person that I had a bad first impression of. I let out a quiet but irritated exhale, that one person that ticked me off the moment he opened his mouth years ago.

"Inuyasha, you're Inuyasha aren't you?" I ask him back.

"About time you remembered me. I'm a bit disappointed that you forgot." He says with a haughty tone.

I want to smack him right now, I close my eyes and bite my lower lip.

"Ya well, if I can see your face I would recognize you right away. Unfortunately, I can't so it's going to take me a while to know who you are when you don't tell me your name and instead beat around the bush. Besides, after that first encounter with you I hoped that I won't have to deal with someone like you again in the near future. Guess my day couldn't get any worse. Besides, I have a name, it's_______________." I say looking to the side even though I can't see anything.

"Wow thanks, I appreciate the kindness. So, are you really blind?" He asks me.

I can feel a soft whooshing sound in front of my face and I feel a light breeze and the rustling of fabrics. He is not doing that. I lift my arm up and it hits something, silk fabric touches my arm and I soon realize it's his arm. I feel irritation blazing inside of me again, I whack his arm away from my face.

"Don't take me for a fool alright? Just because I can't see doesn't mean I can't feel. You don't need to wave your hands in front of my face, I'm blind, it's nothing to lie about. I'm pretty sure you can also tell that my eyes aren't focused directly at you since I can't pinpoint where you are. You're so annoying." I say to him trying to control myself but ultimately failed.

There's a brief silence, the gentle wind around us breezes past us.

"Such a shame that you lost your sight, I thought the "Blinded" part of your nickname was just something of your artistic talent, didn't think you would actually become blind." Inuyasha says.

His voice, it lost its arrogant and rash tone again, he sounds sad almost. I feel my anger slowly depleting again, I let out a sigh.

"Ya... it's already been like this for a few years now. It's a genetic thing that I got from my dad's side, I would go blind in my mid to late 20's, and here I am in my late 20's and blind." I explain to him about my disability.

"Hmm, so what are you doing out here away from your village? Shouldn't you be somewhere where you're more familiar with?" He asks me.

"Why can't I got out? Such a inconsiderate question. Yes I'm blind, but I told myself that my blindness shouldn't keep me in one place. So I decided to leave and travel, it's also a way for me to feel the outside world hoping it can help me improve my art." I say to him with a frown.

"Ya well you almost got yourself killed if it wasn't for me." Inuyasha says, his haughty tone coming back.

"Ugh, fine, thanks for saving me. Say what are you doing out here?" I ask him.

There's another moment of silence, and then I hear him letting out a sigh.

"I'm just out here looking at the scenery, it's like the same thing as you exploring." He tells me.

Something in his voice tells me that he's not telling me the truth, he's hiding something, there's a slight nostalgic tone in his voice. I decide to let it go anyway.

"I see, well, I'll be going then. Thanks again for saving me." I say turning to go.

"Where are you going?" He suddenly asks me.

"Somewhere, it doesn't need to concern you. You can do your stuff and I'll do mine. Goodbye." I say with a wave.

"You're walking back the way you came." He tells me.

I stop, ok that's embarrassing. I then hear the grass behind me rustling as I hear footsteps approaching and then stopping beside me.

"Guess you need someone to guide you after all, follow me. My village isn't far from here, I guess you can rest there for the day. I'm going to walk in front, don't talk to me just follow my footsteps." I hear him say to me.

I want to hit him so bad, but I suppose I could have a place to stay tonight.

"Fine, but first... can you help me find my walking stick? I don't know where it went." I ask him.

"Right almost forgot about that wooding stick that you keep whacking stuff with." He mutters.

I hear him walk away, and no sooner I feel him tapping on my left hand with something hard. I grab hold of it and smooth surface touches the palm of my hand, it's the stick. I smile as I feel safe with it again.

"Thanks Inuyasha." I say to him.

"Ya ya, hold on to it and don't lose it again. Come on." He says.

I hear him walk away, and then the stick starts to slide out of my hand. I tighten my grip on it, and I follow after it as it pulls my arms out in front of me. I take a few steps and I realize that Inuyasha is holding onto the other end, he's guiding me. I want to say something but I remember him telling me not to talk to him, it may sound rude but I think he's trying to give me silence so that I can listen for his footsteps and follow after him. I smile, he is rude and arrogant, but I think if you don't understand him it may seem like that. There's still a lot that I don't understand about Inuyasha, but I think if I give an effort I will. It will take time thought, oh yes, a lot a lot of time. The grass sway beneath our feet as I follow after Inuyasha. We walk in silence for about 15 minutes with what I assume, the grass below our feet soon turns into gravel road as the sound changes into crunches, my ears are more alert because I'm in a place where I'm unfamiliar. I continue to follow after Inuyasha, I can sense that we entered through a gate by the change of feel as we walk pass the them. I can hear people talking in the distance, the sounds of children laughing and playing. It seems like a lively village. After walking a few minutes more, we suddenly stop.

"Wait here for a bit." I hear him say to me.

I then feel him let go of the other end of the walking stick, I feel like a dog waiting for their owner. How irritating. It drops to the ground and lands on the dirt ground. I hear his footsteps walking forward and then the sound of curtains lifting, I strain my ears to see if I can hear anything.

"Inuyasha, you're back." A soft voice of a woman says.

I wonder who it is, a friend? I decide to let them take care of their business and stop eavesdropping, I turn my body around and "look" out. I close my eyes and breathe in the air, it's light and fresh. I can smell the faint scent of vegetables and fruits, the sounds of people in the far distance. It's a peaceful village. A minute or two later, the sounds of curtains fills my hearing again.

"Hello dear." The voice of the woman says behind me.

It startled me slightly, I turn around and try to focus my eyes in the direction of where her voice is.

"Hello, I apologize for coming into your village. Inuyasha brought me here." I tell her with a bow.

"Yes, Inuyasha told me himself earlier, there's no need to apologize dear. We're happy to have visitors in our village. I heard from Inuyasha that you're name is_______________." She says.

She has a kind tone in her voice, warm and inviting. She sounds elderly, almost in her 60's or 70's.

"Yes, my name is__________, I'm an artist. Excuse my impoliteness, but may I ask who you are?" I ask her.

"Of yes of course, I forgot to introduce myself as well. Guess my age is catching on, I'm forgetting things. I'm Sango, my husband Miroku and I are the head of the village. Inuyasha here is our friend." She tells me.

My eyes widen in surprise, Miroku? As in the elderly monk that was with Inuyasha that day. She is his wife?

"Oh, I have met Monk Miroku a few years back with Inuyasha, very friendly Monk. It's nice to meet you too Lady Sango." I say to her.

"Oh you have met my husband as well, what a small world. Please just call me Sango, adding "Lady" in front just makes me sound old." She says with a chuckle.

"You are old Sango." I hear Inuyasha blurt out.

I feel my mind going blank and my mouth dropping slightly, wow, he sure is something isn't he?

"Yes, thanks for the reminder Inuyasha, you haven't changed at all since. Don't mind him___________, Inuyasha's been rude since we first met him. Come on in, it's the late afternoon now, let's get you something to eat." She says gently taking my arm.

"Oh really, it's alright, I don't want to trouble you." I say to her waving my hand.

"It's not at all, you look like you had a rough morning. You're hair's a mess." She tells me with a chuckle.

My hand quickly touches my hair, I can feel strands of my hair everywhere. I feel my cheeks warming up in embarrassment.

"Just accept the offer, Sango's stubborn like you. She won't stop until you accept." Inuyasha says.

"You brought me here in the first place." I say to him.

"I guess I did huh." He replies with a light airhead tone in his voice.

I want to strangle him, but I loosened up my resistance and allowed Sango to guide me inside to what I assume to be a hut. I can hear fire crackling nearby, it's warm inside. Sango gently guides me to sit down, and I feel the wooden floorboard underneath me. I place my walking stick beside me, I hear footsteps around the hut, a thud, and the clinking sounds of bowls and chopsticks. I feel someone kneeling down beside me and taking my hands gently in theirs.

"Here, please go ahead and eat. We're just about to each lunch as well, my husband should be back in a few hours. It's usually just Inuyasha, Shippo, and I, and sometimes just Shippo and myself because Inuyasha is always out. So it's nice to have some company." Sango tells me.

She places a pair of chopsticks in my hand a bowl of rice in my other, I can feel her placing food in my bowl because it gets slightly heavier each time. I can hear the shifting of plates on the wooden table. She then gets up and I feel her presence leaving beside me.

"Inuyasha can you go get Shippo? I don't know where he is, you can get him with your keen nose. Tell him it's lunch time and we have a visitor." I hear Sango asking Inuyasha.

"Fine, that little brat still going out without telling us where he's going." I hear him mutter.

"You do the same thing Inuyasha, now hurry." I hear Sango say.

I smile at their conversation, I hear him get up with a grunt and his footsteps carry him out of the hut. I then hear Sango sitting down from across the table.

"Excuse my rudeness, and not to offend you or anything, but I can't help but notice that you're unable to see." I hear her ask me.

"Oh no not at all, yes I would assume you would have noticed by now anyway. I'm blind in both eyes. I have been blind for a few years now, it's a genetic thing from my father's side." I tell her like I told Inuyasha.

"I see, but you seem to have coped with it pretty well. You are going out on your own, you also said that you are an artist. Being an artist with blindness is an amazing talent and gift." She says.

"My mother and father taught me a lot of things when I was younger, they taught me how to draw and make things. Unfortunately, they passed away when I was young and I became an orphan. But thanks to their teachings I'm able to use them to my advantage." I say to her quietly.

"Oh I see... I'm sorry to hear that dear." She says with sadness in her voice.

"It's alright. It's all in the past, I know that I can't hold on to what has happened. I have to tell myself to move on with life, tell myself that I can do things despite losing a part of me." I say with a smile.

"You have a lot of confidence and strength in you, you remind me of a dear friend of mine. You are just like her." Sango tells me with softness in her voice.

Suddenly, the curtains moves and I hear footsteps.

"I'm here, let's eat!" I hear a lively voice say.

I put down my bowl on the table and I prop myself up and stand up, I bow to whoever it is.

"You don't have to do that_____________, please sit down. Shippo, this is____________, she's a guest." Sango says.

"Nice to meet you." I greet the person.

"Oh, nice to meet you too, I'm Shippo. Please sit, I didn't mean to startle you." I hear the person say.

"You can sit down now____________, you don't have to be so polite with him. Shippo isn't a human, he's fox demon. Not to mention he's shorter than you, despite being almost 80 years old." I hear Inuyasha say flatly.

"You didn't need to add the short part Inuyasha sheesh." I hear the person say.

A fox demon? 80 years old? Really? He sounds like a teenager. I guess this is the difference between humans and demons. I hear Sango standing up and coming over and helping me sit down again, using the table as support, I descend back down onto the wooden floorboard. I then hear two pairs of footsteps walking to the other side of the table and then sitting down across from us, I then hear chopsticks and bowls being lifted and the contact between ceramics. I guess Sango is sitting beside me now, she helps me place the bowl and chopsticks back in my hands again.

"Please go ahead and eat, you don't have to feel like a stranger here." Sango tells me.

"Ya, just eat how you would normally would." I hear Shippo say to me with a kind tone.

"Thank you, but I haven't ate like this in a while." I say to them with a light chuckle.

"Oh really? Why not?" Shippo asks me with a confused tone now.

"I've been eating by myself for the past few years, so it's quite quiet in my house. It's been a while since I ate with people so it's a bit new to me." I reply back.

"Oh.. I see. Well I guess today will be the first day that you get to eat with someone again. It's nice to have someone to talk to when you're eating, it brightens up the atmosphere." Shippo tells me.

"Ya I suppose so." I answer back with a smile.

I noticed that Inuyasha hasn't said anything in a while, but I can tell he's still here, I can hear him eating. I pick up a bit of rice and place it in my mouth, I then realized that I'm pretty hungry.

"So where are you planning on going?" I hear Sango ask me.

"'I'm not sure, I told myself that I would let the wind carry me. Enjoy the world around me wherever it would lead me to. Draw what I feel and such." I reply back.

"You're an artist?" I hear Shippo asks me.

"Yes I am." I answer him with a smile.

"That's cool, I never really met an artist before, I also noticed that you're different than others. So being able to draw like that is amazing." Shippo says with admiration in his voice.

"Thank you, but it's not as easy." I answer back with a chuckle, he knows I'm blind but said it in a different way.

"Nice way to make a person uncomfortable Shippo." I hear Inuyasha say.

"You were way worse Inuyasha." I add.

"Hey, you don't need to turn this on me." Inuyasha fires back.

"At least this young demon here is saying that he knows I'm blind in a way that makes me feel comfortable, you on the other hand waved your hands in front of my face to make sure that I'm actually blind." I remind him.

"Well excuse me for my rudeness, but I wanted to make sure that you won't suddenly give me a death glare out of nowhere." Inuyasha says with sarcasm in his voice.

I feel annoyance boiling up inside of me, but then I realized that there are people beside us. I bow in apology.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." I quickly say coming back to my senses.

I hear Sango laughing gently beside me.

"No no, it quite alright. It's been a while since I've seen Inuyasha argue with someone this much, it's good to see that there's someone out there who won't deal with his rash behaviour." Sango replies with amusement in her voice.

"Really? You guys don't argue with him despite knowing his personality? You can stand him?" I ask her surprised.

"Well, we try to tolerate him, we've been friends for years, we know what type of person he is now. We use to argue back too but as we got older... we decided that it's best to just let him be. I suppose some serenity is needed at times." Sango replies with a gentle sigh.

"I see..." I reply quietly.

We ate lunch together and enjoyed a nice conversation, with the exception of Inuyasha because every time he opens his mouth it gets on my nerves. Sango guided me around the village for the late afternoon and early evening, telling me about where everything is and such. Time went by pretty fast and no sooner, dinner has come by. Sango prepared dinner for all of us, when we all sat down, Miroku came back as well.

"Oh, why it isn't the beautiful "Artistic Butterfly." Didn't expect you to come to our village." The familiar kind voice says as he enters.

I stand up and bow to him.

"Yes, it's quite unexpected to be here myself as well. It's good to see you again Monk Miroku." I greet him with a smile.

"Indeed, please sit, no need to be so polite. Let's have dinner together." Miroku tells me with a gentle voice.

"Thank you." I reply.

Sango helps me sit back down, I hear chopsticks and bowls being lifted, Sango helps me with mine again. I'm thankful for the hospitality.

"Such a shame, but I noticed the your blindness has finally caught on." Miroku says.

"Yes, it was unavoidable, but I have grown use to it a little by now." I reply back to him with a smile.

"Such a strong spirit, you have endured a lot dear. I'm happy to see that it hasn't brought you down in anyway." He tells me.

"Thank you." I answer back with a bow.

"I assume you know my wife Sango, Shippo, and of course Inuyasha already." Miroku adds.

"Yes I have, they are kind people, especially Lady Sango here. It's feels like a family almost." I say.

"It does feel like it doesn't it? This isn't everyone though." Sango says.

"Oh? Really?" I answer surprised.

"Yes, there are more people, but they are not with us now." Sango adds.

"Yes, Sango and I have a son and twin daughters who are married now and moved out of the village, the previous head of the village was a priestess called Kaede. Sango also has a younger brother named Kohaku and a pet demon cat named Kirara who is currently living with Kohaku. There was also a woman named Rin who left the village and has been living elsewhere, Inuyasha here also has an older half brother named Sesshomaru, and there use to be another priestess who was part of the family... but she left as well. They are all a part of this family, but unfortunately things change and people come and go, thus only leaving us." Miroku says.

Wow, that's a lot of people. Quite a big family, I suppose people change and they move on, I wonder if some of them are still around, if I remember Miroku's appearance the last time that I met him, he looked almost 70 years old, close to 80 perhaps. It's only natural that the people and friends around them are around that age too, and being in this era, living till 80-90 years old can be difficult. So the word "leaving" and "left" has many different interpretations. I would assume the priestess named Kaede would have passed away by now since she was the head of the village before them, and knowing that Sango and Miroku are in their 70-80's, the priestess might have been older than they are, perhaps even older.

"I see." It's still nice to hear that you all have such a strong bond together." I say with a smile.

"Yes, I people in our lives are all we have, it will be bad if our bond is broken." Sango says with a lighthearted laugh.

"Say where is your next destination or what are you planning on doing after?" Shippo asks me.

"I don't know, I guess I'll have to see." I reply back.

"You know, the weather is getting colder by the day, Winter is coming along." Miroku says.

"You're right, the seasons go by so quick doesn't it?" Sango adds in realization.

Winter? Already? I didn't notice, I suppose that I was so busy that I forgot the weather changing. Well, then again, when you can't see the leaves changing from green to golden brown and orange in the Autumn, and the Winter's pure white snow falling onto the ground and melting away as Spring approaches, you start to forget that the seasons even exist.

"Since Winter is coming in, why don't you stay with us for a few months, until Winter melts away?" Miroku suggests to me.

"Ya! I think that will be a great idea!" I hear Shippo add in an excited voice.

It was unexpected, I'll be staying here until Winter passes? That's too long, and I feel like I would be giving them so much inconvenience.

"Sorry?" I ask not quite catching on.

At the same time that I said that, someone else also voiced their opinion. A loud voice that sounds all so familiar.

"You serious?!" Inuyasha's irritated voice echos through the room as he asks Miroku.

He doesn't sound so pleased at the suggestion.